(Updated April 2008) A few years ago hearts of palm appeared in big jars at my Costco, and I was overjoyed. I'd learned to like them while working at a French restaurant in college, but they were expensive in my regular grocery store, so I hadn't ever cooked with them much up to that point. Then sadly, the hearts of palm were no longer carried by Costco, at least in Utah, so they went back to being something I only purchased for special occasions. Recently I bought some and made this favorite salad, definitely overdue to be added to the Recipe Favorites category of the recipe archives.I love this type of summer salad which combines a few tasty ingredients that go well together. This recipe also features basil vinaigrette, something I love to drizzle over garden tomatoes when I have lots of fresh basil. I also make this salad dressing using frozen basil or chopped fresh basil simply mixed into purchased vinaigrette dressing, which is a bit easier than the recipe below. If you don't want to bother with either of those options, just combine these ingredients, pour on some of your favorite bottled vinaigrette, and enjoy!
Tomatoes, Hearts of Palm, Olives, and Fetawith Basil Vinaigrette
(Makes 2 main dish or 4 side dish servings, recipe created by Kalyn)
4-6 small tomatoes, sliced (or use about 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half)
1 cup hearts of palm, sliced (or more)
1/2 cup black olives
1/4 cup crumbled feta
For basil puree:
1 cup fresh basil leaves (packed)
1/2 cup olive oil
(Freeze the leftovers for another use. You could make half this much if you're short on basil.)
For basil vinaigrette:
6 T your favorite no-sugar vinaigrette dressing
(I used Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing)
2 T basil puree
In salad bowl, layer tomatoes, hearts of palm, and olives. Drizzle basil vinaigrette over veggies, then crumble feta over. If you're not up for making basil vinaigrette, or you don't have that much fresh basil, you can get a pretty good result by combining finely chopped fresh basil with your favorite purchased vinaigrette.
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Patricia from Technicolor Kitchen also made a slightly different version of my Hearts of Palm Salad and reported her husband really likes it, although he doesn't like tomatoes, so check out her version too.
South Beach Diet and Low-Glycemic Suggestions:
This salad is a perfect side dish for the South Beach Diet, or any low-glycemic eating plan. For South Beach dieters, be sure to choose a vinaigrette with less than 2 grams of sugar per serving. This would make a great side dish for grilled fish or chicken.
Patricia from Technicolor Kitchen also made a slightly different version of my Hearts of Palm Salad and reported her husband really likes it, although he doesn't like tomatoes, so check out her version too.
South Beach Diet and Low-Glycemic Suggestions:
This salad is a perfect side dish for the South Beach Diet, or any low-glycemic eating plan. For South Beach dieters, be sure to choose a vinaigrette with less than 2 grams of sugar per serving. This would make a great side dish for grilled fish or chicken.
More Tasty Salads and Side Dishes with Hearts of Palm:
(Recipes from other blogs may or may not be South Beach Diet friendly, check ingredients.)
Arugula Salad with Hearts of Palm, Kalamata Olives, and Gorgonzola
Green Bean Salad with Hearts of Palm, Olives, Red Pepper, and Feta
Rice with Palm Hearts from Morsels and Musings
Blood Orange and Hearts of Palm Salad from Nick at Slashfood
Heart of Palm Amuse Bouche from The Skinny Gourmet
Grilled Hearts of Palm from Desert Candy
Hearts of Palm Salad from Tico Food
Hearts of Palm and Avocado Salad from Fresh Approach Cooking
Two Bean Salad with Hearts of Palm and Blue Cheese from Taste and Tell
Hearts of Palm Salad from Garam Masala
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21 comments:
This has wonderful ingredients. Thanks for another idea for the hearts of palm. Can't wait to try it. I agree with you about eating locally & not wasting. I think we would have to live in paradise to eat totally local. Depending on the garden for some things as well as the market.
Kalyn, I would add to your list of goals:
3) Preserve what you grow so you can use it during the coming year.
4) Make a teensy effort to locate local foods; I know May is the wrong month for Utah, but... eh.
5) Revel in your local salt!
Fran, I know you will love it.
CC, I already do preserve the things from my garden to the max, so I don't need that goal. And I do use the local salt too, which is quite good. I buy local foods from the Farmers Market when I go, which is not too often, since I grow my own food.
Love the photo, love the ingredients. This one is definitely on the menu this week.
Thanks for sharing.
Comments before this one were from April 2006 when I first posted this recipe. My original post had my two goals for eating local that year (since May was the "eat local" month in 2006 and nothing is growing in Utah in May. If anyone is still interested, my two goals were to grow as much of my own food as I could and not to waste food. I'm still doing pretty well with those goals. (I also updated the photo in the post, which was pretty awful in the original one.)
Looks fabulous. Our Costco is funny that way, too--just when you start to depend on finding an ingredient there, poof!--it's gone.
I love the photo and the recipe too. Now that tomatoes are starting to be in season, I must try it. In fact, I bought a small plant today at the market: we'll see what happens.
I didn't know hearts of palm belonged more to french than american kitchen. To me they are so common, I don't imagine it isn't the same in other occidental countries. In france too, they can be quite expensive, depending of their quality or box (glass or tin jar). I like them too, but don't think about buying some - should do next time I do shopping.
This will be such a great recipe for the 90 degree weather we've been having.
aah!! that looks yummy!! and so fresh Kalyn!
This is SO gorgeous - the colors in this salad, wow. "Fresh" doesn't always make one hungry - but this one sure did. Thanks for the post. :)
Kalyn I don't remember when I first discovered hearts of palm but it was long after college. That would be really neat if Sam's would carry them here. They will remain a special treat until that time. This is just the kind of salad I use them in for a special treat!
Beautiful! I miss feta. Sniff. Hearts of palm- so yummy.
Yumm I love hearts of palm! I'm going to have to pick some up the next time I'm at the market.
I adore hearts of palm. I agree with you that they are quite a luxury unless you are fortunate enough to find them for less. I recently discovered that Whole Foods' 365 brand actually carries really tasty hearts of palm canned at a reasonable price. jarred is usually better, but the can price is quite good.
I love the idea of using it with the olives and feta.
Erin, thanks for the tip! Utah (finally!) got a Whole Foods and it's right by my house. I see why they call it Whole paycheck, but I do buy some things there!
You just can't go wrong with olives and feta!!
This is the first that I have heard of hearts of palms. They sound interesting! I will have to keep an eye out for them. That salad looks good. Just look are the vibrant red of the tomatoes!
Kalyn, that's the only salad with tomatoes he'll eat! :)
It's delicious and you've made me realize I haven't made it in a while now.
I love hearts of palm, but haven't had it in years! This is a beautiful looking salad. Perfect for the warm weather (if it every gets here). :)
I made this last night with minor variations and it was FABULOUS! I used low fat Feta and since I had very little fresh basil, I used Kraft Calorie Wise Greek Salad dressing. Totally delicious. Thanks, Kalyn! Judith from Calgary, AB
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